Formation and early years The club was formed in 1929 in what was then
Ross and Cromarty after the previous local club from the
North of Scotland Junior League Dingwall Victoria United (the 'Dingwall Vics') successfully applied for
Highland Football League membership. The club was subsequently renamed Ross County. Playing in the
Highland League from 1929, they won the championship on three occasions, first in 1967, then in 1991 and 1992. They also gained a reputation for their good performances in the early rounds of the
Scottish Cup, upsetting league teams on eight occasions. The most notable of these upsets came on 8 January 1994, when they won 4–0 at
Forfar Athletic, and were elected to the Scottish Football League three days later.
Entry to the Scottish Football League At the beginning of season 1994–95 the
Scottish Football League was restructured into four tiers, and, following a vote on 11 January 1994, County were allocated one of the two vacancies in the new 10-club
Division Three. County gathered 57 votes. They were joined by a new club created as a result of a merger of two teams to form
Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who amassed 68 votes. In 1998–99, Ross County were crowned Champions of the Third Division and thereby won promotion to the Second Division, where they finished in third place. This resulted in promotion to the First Division thanks to a reorganisation of the League, with the Premier League being expanded from ten clubs to twelve. After seven seasons in the First Division Ross County were relegated back to the Second Division in 2006–07. They won the Second Division in 2007–08, and were promoted back to the First Division. Ross County finished their first season back in the First Division in 8th place. Their manager for a very short spell until October 2005, was former
Inverness and
Hearts manager
John Robertson. He left the club on 24 October 2005, due to differences of opinion on a number of fundamental issues with the chairman.
Gardner Spiers, a former
Aberdeen coach, was appointed
caretaker manager, but he too left in April 2006 after being told he would not be considered for appointment on a permanent basis. Director of Football George Adams took temporary charge before former
Motherwell player
Scott Leitch was appointed on 18 April 2006. Ross County won their first ever nationwide trophy when they won the
Scottish Challenge Cup in November 2006 on penalties with Jason Crooks scoring the deciding spot kick on his competitive debut. Leitch, after winning the Challenge Cup but suffering relegation, stood down at the end of the 2006–07 season, almost exactly one year after his appointment. Former
Partick Thistle manager
Dick Campbell was announced as his replacement in May 2007. However, after a good run of results to start their Division 2 campaign, Campbell and the Ross County board decided to part company on 2 October 2007.
Derek Adams (son of George Adams) took over as caretaker, and was confirmed as permanent manager a month later after the side's good form continued. County again reached the final of the
Scottish Challenge Cup in 2008. They played
Airdrie United at
McDiarmid Park. Unlike two years previously, County lost in a penalty shootout where four penalties were missed. Ross County also reached the
Challenge Cup final in April 2011 in which they beat
Queen of the South 2–0. In November 2010 Derek Adams left to become
Colin Calderwood's assistant at
Hibernian. Former
Celtic player
Willie McStay was appointed as his replacement in November 2010. McStay's tenure was short – lasting only 9 games.
Jimmy Calderwood was then appointed until the end of the 2010–11 season. In May 2011, it was announced that Derek Adams was to return as manager. On 23 March 2010, they defeated
Scottish Premier League club
Hibernian 2–1 in a
Scottish Cup quarter-final replay at home at Victoria Park. In the semi-final, they played
Celtic on Saturday 10 April 2010. In one of the biggest upsets in cup history, Ross County won 2–0 at
Hampden Park and reached the final of the
Scottish Cup for the first time in their history. More than 7,000 Ross County fans travelled to
Glasgow to watch the game. In the
2010 Scottish Cup Final on 15 May 2010, County lost 0–3 to
Dundee United at
Hampden Park. The match was watched by more than 17,000 Ross County fans.
Rise to the top flight Ross County secured promotion to the Scottish Premier League for the first time on 10 April 2012 when their nearest rival to the title
Dundee failed to beat
Queen of the South. During this push to promotion, Ross County embarked on a 40-game undefeated run in league football, which continued into the Scottish Premier League. The run was ended by
St Johnstone on 22 September 2012. The Staggies parted company with George and
Derek Adams on 28 August 2014 following a poor start to the
2014–15 campaign. Jim McIntyre was appointed manager on 9 September 2014, with Billy Dodds as his assistant.
League Cup victory On 13 March 2016, Ross County won their first ever major trophy when they beat
Hibernian 2–1 in the
final of the
2015–16 Scottish League Cup. The team's fortunes declined after this success, and they were relegated at the end of the
2017–18 season. The club secured an immediate return to the Scottish Premiership after a 4–0 win at home to Queen of the South on 26 April 2019 saw them lift the
2018–19 Scottish Championship. ==Nickname==